Voice search optimization in digital media: challenges, use and training

Abstract

In view of the widespread use of virtual voice assistants and/or voice searches on smartphones to find all kinds of information, this article explores voice search optimisation (VSO) and its application in the journalistic sector. To this end, 32 semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts representing different professional profiles in the fields of journalism, search engine optimisation (SEO) and academic research. On the basis of the data, eight semantic categories were created and the experts’ perceptions were correlated to identify response patterns. The results confirm the existence of various degrees of convergence and divergence between these three professional profiles in relation to different dimensions of VSO, such as its definition, its techniques, its current and future strategic role in digital media, and its application in journalistic writing. This study confirms that although the use of VSO in digital news media is still in its embryonic stages, it will be useful in the medium and long term to train journalists in basic aspects of voice searches. In addition, internal SEO departments should be prepared to optimise the visibility of news for virtual voice assistants when they become widespread and when the technology companies that develop these assistants define a viable business model.